Grandmother Visits
by Erincoffeeaddict
Summary: Kat's grandmother is visiting for a week and she doesn't scare easy. Dr. Harvey begins to wonder about the tragic backstory of the Ghostly Trio.
1. Grandma's Here

A woman named Miriam parked her car in front of a large mansion, then began walking up the steps to the door, a suitcase in each hand. She was a heavyset, motherly woman who was in her sixties and had a bush of reddish-brown hair on her head. Reaching the top step, she put down one suitcase and knocked on the door.

"Dad! Dad, there's someone outside," Kat called from the kitchen. When he didn't seem to hear her, she sighed and walked out of the kitchen. "Alright! I'll answer the door."

Kat strolled over to the door and opened it.

"Hello, sweetheart!" Miriam greeted her with a big smile.

"Grandma!" Kat said with surprise.

Miriam dropped her suitcases and wrapped her arms around Kat's slim body. Kat hugged her back, unsure as to why her grandmother had made a surprise visit.

Casper drifted into the room to see what all the commotion was about. He ducked out of sight when he saw a strange woman in the house.

"It's so good to have you here, Grandma," Kat said. "But you really should have told us you were coming."

"What? And give you a chance to find a hiding place?" Miriam laughed, giving Kat a playful nudge. "Where's that daddy of yours? Tell I'm here and I'm staying for a week!"

"Oh. Uh, I mean…Okay. Come on upstairs then. I'll find you a room," Kat said. Then they each grabbed a suitcase and started walking up the stairs.

Casper turned himself invisible and followed them, sticking alongside Kat.

"What's up, Kat? he asked.

"Grandma is spending the week with us," Kat whispered back.

"Cool, can I meet her?"

"We'll see."

"Kat, who are you talking to?" Miriam asked, causing Kat to stammer.

"Uh, just…just a friend."

"Very funny!" Miriam snorted. "But seriously, cut it out. People have gone crazy talking to themselves."

"Yes, Grandma," Kat sighed. _Whatever._

Casper stayed close by and watched Miriam curiously. Seeing her made him wonder about his own grandmother, which he of course, had no memory of.

Kat pushed open a door and peeked inside. The coast was clear. "You can stay in here, Grandma."

"Thanks, sweetheart," Miriam looked around. It was cozy-looking bedroom. "Well, I guess I'll unpack my junk!"

Kat giggled. "I'll let you know when lunch is ready." Then Kat went back downstairs but Casper decided to hang around for a while He wanted to know more about Kat's grandma, so he climbed onto the bed and hid behind a fluffy pillow.

Miriam put her suitcase on the bed and opened it so she could unpack her things.

Three restless ghosts were spying on her from inside a painting on the wall.

"Say fellas…do you see what I see?" Stretch said.

"There's an old broad in our house!" Stinkie announced. "You know what that means, don't ya?"

"Fresh flesh to scare!" Fatso exclaimed.

"Yeah! Let's scare her!" Stinkie said, as he prepared his foul breath for an attack.

Then Stretch, Stinkie, and Fatso all dove out from behind the picture and whirled around the room in a bluish twister of wind and noise.

Miriam looked up in surprise, shielding her eyes from the dusty gusts of air. Then the wind died down and the ghosts re-formed themselves in front of her. All at once, they lunged at her screeched, "BOOOOOOOO!"

Miriam stood still and stared at their horrid faces for a moment. Then she reached up and grabbed Stretch's nose. She yanked it hard and gave it a twist.

"Owie! Let me go!" Stretch cried. "That hurts! It's not supposed to hurt! LET GO!"

"Well, is that any way to treat a guest? You better learn some manners, mister!" Miriam said to Stretch as he tried to pull his vulnerable nose out of her grip.

"Hey, don't you know a ghost when you see one?" Stinkie said, frustrated.

"All I know is that this is MY bedroom for the next week, and you ghosts are _not ever_ coming in here again unless I invite you! And I doubt I ever will. So will you all please go away!" Miriam said boldly. She released Stretch's nose and pointed towards the door.

"What?!" Stinkie growled at her. "Are you talking to us? You can't talk to us that way, you old bone-bag!"

"That's MRS. Bone-bag to you, Gopher-face!"

"SHUT UP!" Stinkie screamed.

"Ooh, what's in here? Any goodies?" Fatso was rummaging through the stuff in Miriam's open suitcase. He picked up a pair of her underwear and studied it.

"GET YOUR PAWS OFF MY THINGS!" Miriam yelled, snatching it out of his hand.

"You know something, fellas? I think there's something wrong with this old gal!" Fatso told the others.

"Boy, I'll say! Why ain't she scared of us?" Stinkie wondered.

"Maybe she's a demon," Fatso suggested.

"I think she's a little screwy, ya know what I mean?" Stretch circled his finger on the side of his head, to demonstrate his point.

"Stop talking! All of you!" Miriam covered her ears. "You have outlived your welcome in this bedroom! Now clear out!"

"Chill, Bossy-bloomers! We ain't leaving until you get scared out of your wits!" Stinkie said with a sneer.

"Yeah! Scared out of your wits!" Fatso added.

Miriam shook her head.

"Oh, come on!" Stretch was losing his patience.

Casper was watching the whole thing and he could hardly keep from laughing. _I think I'm really going to like her!_ he thought happily.

"I'm Kat's grandmother and I'm not afraid of anything! Now get out of here before I THROW you out!"

"Oh yeah?" the Trio yelled back.

Miriam took a deep breath and counted to ten, then she walked right over to Stinkie. Smiling cruelly, she reached up and tickled his belly.

Stinkie exploded with laughter and fell to the floor. "HAHAHAHAHA! STOP! THAT TICKLES!"

But Miriam didn't let up. She rolled him over on his back and wiggled her fingers on his belly mercilessly. "Somebody's a ticklish ghost!" she chuckled.

"STRETCH! FATSO! HAHAHAHAHA! HELP!" Stinkie cried through his laughter.

"Hey, hey! Pick on somebody your own age!" Stretch came to his brother's rescue. Growling, he grabbed her and threw her off.

"What's going on in here?!" Kat ran into the room. "Oh…Well, Grandma, I see you've met the Ghostly Trio."

"Yep, and they don't scare at all!" Miriam boasted, wiggling her fingers at Stinkie.

Kat raised an eyebrow. "You're not scared of ghosts? Not even ghosts like these?"

"Especially not ghosts like these!"

Kat heard Casper giggling from his hiding place.

"Now, where were we…," Miriam turned and went back to tickle Stinkie.

"NOOO! STAY AWAY!" He darted out of the room like lightening. Miriam shrugged and wiggled her fingers at Stretch and Fatso.

"NOOO! STAY AWAY!" they shrieked, leaving the room in a whoosh.

Miriam smiled and looked back at Kat. "I can handle those ghosties."

Kat nodded and went back downstairs. Then Miriam went back to unpacking her suitcase as if nothing had happened.


	2. Nightmares and Despair

_It was around midnight when three drunk, dark-haired men left Fritzy's Bar and started walking down the street. One man was tall with a bulbous nose, another was short with a set of buckteeth, and the third was overweight. They were talking and laughing and singing as they gulped the remaining contents of their liquor bottles._

" _Say fellas, do know what I wanna do?" said the tall man. "I wanna go out and scare people!"_

" _Do you now? Hehe, well, that shouldn't be too hard for you. I mean…it would be harder for me because, you see…I'm just a lil' old cutie fruitie! But you...yer just you! Ya know?" The bucktoothed fella explained, groggily._

" _Hey, hey, yer makin' me sick talkin' about cuties 'n fruities…let's do something that makes sense," said the fat man as he licked the dribbles of liquor off the side of his bottle._

" _Ah, shut yer trap! Who wants to make sense anyway, eh?"_

 _Then they spotted a police car parked across the street. The three men couldn't resist so they ran towards, shouting and jeering at the top of their lungs._

" _HEY COPPERS!? I HAVE A QUESTION!" screeched the tall man. "WE WANNA SING! DO YOU KNOW THE LYRICS TO THE ALPHABET SONG?"_

 _The other two men burst out laughing. Then they took their empty liquor bottles and threw them at the police car. One bottle hit the side of the car, another shattered a window._

 _A group of policemen jumped out of the car and chased down the three troublemakers._

" _Let us go! Lawyer! Lawyer!" shrieked the fat man as he was handcuffed. The bucktoothed man took a deep breath, swallowed, and let loose a mist of disgustingly bad breath. All the policemen gagged at the smell, but continued restraining and handcuffing the men._

 _All three of the men were arrested and dragged into the police headquarters. Then they were tied to chairs , so the police chief could question them._

 _The chief was a huge brute of a man, clad in a dark uniform, with a long club in his hand. His name was Greer, a name which was feared by many._

" _So," he began, coldly. "You three gentlemen were throwing bottles at one of my police cars, were you?"_

" _What about it?" sneered the tall man, struggling in his handcuffs and ropes._

" _We ain't scared of you coppers!" barked the bucktoothed man with the sour breath._

" _It's not even our fault!" added the fat man. "You see, we're just a little bit intoxicated."_

 _Chief Greer stared at the three mischievous drunks with a cold, emotionless look in his eyes. "You make me sick. All of you…," he hissed. "What are your names?"_

" _They're the McFadden brothers," said another cop._

 _Hearing this reminder, the three men suddenly remembered who they were and introduced themselves as Stretch, Stinkie, and Fatso._

 _Greer laughed dryly. "Ridiculous. Now…what are your REAL names?"_

" _We ain't gonna tell ya!" Stretch shouted._

" _Well, it doesn't really make any difference anyway," the police chief snorted. "You all need to be punished for what you did."_

" _Aww, can't ya let us off with a warning?" Stinkie mocked. "We'll be good boys…NOT!"_

 _Stretch and Fatso both laughed loudly at this. But Greer was not amused._

" _So you think this funny, do you?" he asked in a cold, evil voice._

 _The three men stopped laughing, but they did smirk and nod._

 _Greer slowly walked closer to the tied-up men. He stood in front of Stinkie and glared at him._

" _Well, let's see if you think this is funny too…," And with that, Greer slapped Stinkie across the face._

 _To Greer's delight, none of the men were smiling anymore. Stretch and Fatso were in shock from what they had just seen. Stinkie's lower lip began to quiver._

" _This is what happens to people who break the law," Greer explained._

" _Come on, let us go," Stretch said, nervously. All the humor had disappeared from this situation and the true terror began to set in._

" _Impossible," Greer said, coldly. Then he punched Stretch in the face._

 _Stretch yelped in pain and begged to be set free. But Greer only laughed and began to beat Fatso and Stinkie with his club._

" _STOP! STOP!" Stretch screamed. Then Greer came back and hit Stretch in the mouth until he was bleeding. Then he bashed Fatso's head, and brutally whipped Stinkie with the club. Gut-wrenching screams of agony filled the room._

 _For an hour, all the policemen beat the poor men mercilessly._

 _By the time it was over, Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie were completely broken and covered in blood, too weak to move or struggle anymore. They slumped over in their chairs. Unloved. Unmourned._

Dr. Harvey woke up with a jolt, his body shaking and sweating. There were tears rolling down his face. It was just a dream. Just a dream. "Oh, my dear God," He sat up in his bed and put on his glasses, trying to calm himself down. He was breathing heavily.

"Dr. Harvey, are you awake?" whispered a familiar voice from outside the bedroom door.

"Yes, Casper. Come in."

The young ghost came into the room, his big eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay? I was just passing by and you sounded like you were having a nightmare."

Dr. Harvey nodded. He dreamed about the Ghostly Trio being murdered by the Police.

"Wanna talk about it?" Casper asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Dr. Harvey wiped another tear from his eye. He really didn't want Casper to see him crying. "I'll be alright," he assured the young ghost with a small smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. But…Casper, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Dr. Harvey cleared his throat. "Casper, do you remember how your uncles died?"

"Uh, no. Not really. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just curious," Dr. Harvey said. Casper looked down at the floor, slightly disappointed at not being able to give him a better answer. Dr. Harvey gently patted the ghost's little shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

Casper smiled but still seemed a bit sad. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me about your bad dream?"

"I'm sure," Dr. Harvey nodded. "Goodnight, Casper."

"Goodnight," Casper got up and floated away to leave.

"Oh! Casper?"

"Yeah?

"N-nothing. Goodnight."

Casper gave him a wary look but said goodnight again and left the room.

Dr. Harvey wanted to tell Casper about his nightmare, but he had decided not to. He was afraid that Casper was too young to understand things like Police brutality. He just hoped to God that his dream wasn't the truth.


	3. Morning Coffee

Dr. Harvey came downstairs and found Miriam sitting at the kitchen table, drinking her rich, morning coffee. "Hey, I want to talk to you," she said.

"Well, I want to talk to the Ghostly Trio. Have you seen them?"

"Not since yesterday," Miriam answered, her eyes shifting around the kitchen. "But they're around here somewhere…I can sense their troubled spirits."

"So can I," Dr. Harvey went to pour himself a cup of coffee. _I have to ask the Trio if what I dreamed about them last night is true. It could be…but how can it? It was just a bad dream, right?_

"More coffee, Grandma?" Casper said, suddenly popping up through the table.

Miriam stared at the young ghost for a moment and shook her head. "Are you trying to scare me? Cause if you are, it's not working."

"I…I don't scare people," Casper replied, awkwardly. "At least, not usually. That's my uncles' favorite pastime though. "

Miriam raised an eyebrow, then smiled. "I guess I had you mistaken for one of them. Okay, little ghost…you can bring me more coffee."

"Coming up!" Casper was glad to meet Kat's grandmother. He didn't even notice that Dr. Harvey was frowning at him.

"Casper, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Pardon? I think I'm pouring a cup of coffee. Want some?"

"Casper please, I have to talk to your uncles."

"Oh, they'll be along soon enough – it's almost time for breakfast and I'll give you three guesses as to who will be making it." Casper rolled his eyes and pointed to his chest.

"You don't get along too well with the Trio, do you Casper?" asked Miriam, curiously.

"Well, let's just say I'm not exactly the sunshine of their lives!" Casper groaned.

Miriam chuckled and looked at Dr. Harvey, who was not amused in the least.

"If anybody wants me, I'll be in my office," Dr. Harvey said, picking up his coffee cup and walking out of the kitchen. "Tell the Ghostly Trio I want to see them as soon as it's convenient. And tell them that I don't want any funny business!"

"Whatever you say!" Miriam called with a bit of sarcasm. She turned to Casper. "What's wrong with him this morning?"

"Well, I wasn't going tell you this…," Casper began slowly. "But he had a real scary nightmare last night."

"He did? What was his nightmare about?"

Casper shrugged. "He wouldn't tell me."

"Well, don't worry about it, kid. If he spends a few minutes with the Ghostly Trio, he won't have time to worry about his dreams," Miriam explained as she finished the last of her coffee.


	4. Funny Business

"Now…," Dr. Harvey began, looking sternly at the Ghostly Trio before him. "Let's talk a little about yourselves."

"Nah, let's talk about what ya got here in this drawer…any snacks in here? Huh , Doc?" Stretch ventured as he dug into a drawer and threw the stuff out all over the floor. Stinkie grabbed Dr. Harvey's coffee cup and balanced it on his head. Fatso blew a raspberry in Stinkie's face, then drank the coffee out of the cup.

Dr. Harvey cleared his throat. "Listen, I was thinking that maybe we could talk a little about your pasts. For example, can you remember how you…how you died?"

Stretch's mouth formed a zipper and he zipped it closed and threw away the key, as if to say 'We ain't talkin, Doc'!

"I want to help you, but you have to talk to me, okay?" Dr. Harvey was determined to keep his cool and to have patience. "Now I want you to try and remember some details about your life and death. If you can do that, I'm sure – Hey! Put that down! Stretch, I'm not kidding now…Fatso, stop that! Stinkie, I'm warning you! Don't do that until I get a window open! God, I need I drink of water."

Dr. Harvey left the office for a minute to get some cold water and a tranquillizer. When he got back, the Trio was sitting calmly on the floor with creepy smirks on their bluish-white faces.

Dr. Harvey sat down at his desk. "Well now, are we ready to talk?"

"Sure thing, Doc," Stinkie said coolly.

"We'll talk about anything you want," Fatso added.

Dr. Harvey nodded. "Fine. Let's talk about the three of you."

"Anything but that," Stretch sneered.

"Why not?"

"Because!"

"Because why?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A QUACK! THE DUCK GOES QUACK! QUACK QUACK QUACK!" The Trio shrieked with laughter at their own dumb doctor joke.

Dr. Harvey rolled his eyes. "Why won't you cooperate with me?"

"Because we don't wanna talk to ya and that's all there is to it!" Fatso insisted.

Dr. Harvey reached for his glass of water and sipped it.

"That's right, Doc!" Stretch sing-songed. "We won't talk! Not even if you take away our yummy grub! Not even if you tickle us! Not even if you tie us to chairs and beat us up with clubs till we're a bloody pulp!"

Dr. Harvey nearly choked on his water. "WHAT?!" He dropped his cup and jumped out of his chair. "Those police! You were brutalized in a police station, weren't you? That's how you died! It's all true, isn't it? ISN'T IT?!"

The Ghostly Trio looked at each other for a moment. They were silent.

Dr. Harvey's eyes were wide. "You can talk about it with me," he said softly. "I'll understand."

Stretch floated closer to Dr. Harvey with a sad look in his eyes. "Doc…Can I tell ya something?"

"Of course," Dr. Harvey said, soothingly.

Stretch took a deep breath, then he picked up the glass of water on the desk, and poured it over Dr. Harvey's head.

"YER ALL WET!" Stretch shouted in his face. The Ghostly Trio laughed hysterically and swirled around the room in twister-form. Then they were gone.

Dr. Harvey grabbed a napkin to dry the water off his face. _Well, this session didn't exactly go as well as I had hoped. But maybe – just maybe – it wasn't completely pointless._


	5. Another Bad Dream

_Many years before their deaths, the teenage McFadden brothers went to stay at a hotel with their mother, Bertha. The youngest of the McFadden boys was the eleven-year-old John Thomas who would one day grow up to have a son named Casper._

 _When the family entered the hotel lobby, Bertha McFadden sent Stretch upstairs with the bags, while she finished signing in. "Here's the key. Get the room ready and we'll catch up," she said. "And don't talk to any strangers on the way up!"_

 _The tall, lanky teen rolled his eyes and he plodded up the stairs with the suitcases under his arms. He wasn't happy to be here at a hotel in the first place – let alone have to spend the week end trapped in the room with his mom and lame-brain kid brothers._

 _There were lots of people in the hotel lobby, drinking and smoking and chattering about. Stretch couldn't wait to start making mischief. When he got to his family's room, he surprised to find out that the door was unlocked. He opened the door and threw the suitcases down on the floor. There were two beds in the room. Stretch's eyes widened when he saw that there was a middle-aged man sleeping in one of the beds._

" _Hey! This is our room!" Stretch shouted to wake the man up._

 _The stranger moaned and rolled over, his eyes slowly opening. "Oh, hey kid," he said, groggily._

" _You'd better leave," Stretch said boldly. "My mother will be coming up here soon and she told me not to talk to strangers – let one that's in our bed."_

 _The man yawned sleepily. "That's good. You should always listen to your mama."_

 _Stretch waited. But the man didn't look like he was going anywhere._

" _Well? Are you going to leave or what?"_

" _Why should I?" the man propped himself up on his elbow. "This was my room before it was yours."_

" _Well, it belongs my family for the next weekend! And we ain't sharin' it with you, Buster!"_

" _My name is Regal," said the man. "What's yours?"_

" _It's Stretch."_

" _Nice name," Regal smiled. "How old are you?"_

" _I'm nineteen and that's old enough to kick your ass in if you don't go!"_

 _Regal groaned and sat up in the bed. "Well, I'm not going anywhere. So you better mind your manners, son."_

" _I'm telling my mother!" Stretch said, then he shouted out the open door. "MOTHER!"_

" _Close the door," Regal grumbled, as he picked up his pillow and threw it at Stretch._

" _What do you want from me?!"_

" _Well, if you must know…I'd like a little room service."_

 _Stretch felt the anger bubbling up inside of him. "Oh really? Do expect ME to give you ROOM SERVICE?! I DON'T WORK IN THIS HOTEL! I'M A GUEST LIKE YOU!"_

" _Look kid, I'll be honest with you. I'm not a guest anymore. I actually shouldn't even be in this hotel. I checked out a few hours ago."_

 _Stretch raised an eyebrow. "So why don't you scram?"_

" _Because then, I suddenly had a strange feeling. A feeling like I wasn't ready to leave yet. You know what I mean?"_

 _Stretch shook his head. Regal threw off his blankets and sat on the edge of the mattress. He was a loose pair of old pajamas._

" _I really do need some room service. It's been quite a while since I had some really good…service. You know?" Regal's voice lowered and he locked eyes with Stretch. "Come over here, Stretchy-Boy!"_

" _What for?" the nervous teen pressed his back against the closed door, his hand secretly gripping the knob in case he needed to run._

" _Oh, I just want to get to know you a little better," Regal grinned slyly._

" _Stay away from me."_

 _Regal sighed heavily. Then he got off the bed and walked towards the youngster._

 _Stretch frantically tried to open the door but it was stuck. "Come on! Come on! Open!"_

 _Regal put a firm hand on Stretch's lean shoulder. "Don't even bother. You aren't going anywhere."_

" _GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME! LEAVE ME ALONE! SOMEBODY HELP ME! HELP!" Stretch screamed as he was pinned to the bed and his pants were yanked down._

 _Regal gritted his teeth as he put a hand over Stretch's head and went in for the kill._

 _Suddenly, the door burst open and Bertha walked in. Her jaw dropped. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SON?! GET AWAY FROM HIM NOW!" She pulled out a gun and shot the man in the head. Then she pushed his body onto the floor and kicked it. As soon as Bertha was sure Regal was dead, she walked over to Stretch and slapped him in the face._

" _WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT PIECE OF SHIT WAS TRYING TO DO TO YOU?!"_

 _Stretch sobbed. "Y-Yes."_

" _WELL, WHY DIDN'T YOU KICK HIS BRAINS OUT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM?!"_

" _But Mother, I tried to…,"_

 _Bertha slapped him again and looked down at Regal's body, which lay in a pool of blood on the floor._

" _You killed him, Mother."_

" _Yes, and I'm glad I killed him!" she gloated, with tears in her eyes._

 _Just then, her youngest son John Thomas walked into the room. "What's going on, Mother? Hey…what happened in here?"_

" _None of your business," Bertha snapped. "Now pick up those bags! We're leaving!"_

" _But we just got here!" Then John Thomas noticed the body of the man on the floor. "Oh God…Stretch? What happened?" The young boy ran over to his older brother. "Are you okay?"_

" _Yeah, thanks to Mother," Stretch said, as he fastened the belt around his pants. Then he turned to his kid brother. "Let's go home."_

Dr. Harvey woke up in his bed and sat upright. His face was sweaty and he was breathing heavily. It was another nightmare. His second one. It just couldn't be a coincidence, could it?


	6. The Truth

Dr. Harvey turned on a flashlight and walked quietly up to the attic. "Casper? Are you up here?" The floor creaked under his footsteps as he moved around the attic, looking for any sign of the friendly ghost. There was complete silence otherwise. He had woken up from his most recent nightmare and so he decided to see if there was any way to find the truth. He was going to go through some of Casper's things.

Picking up a newspaper clipping, he read an article about Casper's father, but it said nothing about the Trio. He rummaged through some more junk, including clothes, knick-knacks, and more old newspapers. Finally, he came across something that caught his attention. It was a small, flat box – plain but in good condition.

Dr. Harvey opened the box and inside he found a small section of a newspaper and an old black-and-white photograph. He picked up the photo and squinted at it. There was a tall, skinny woman in the picture and she had four black-haired boys huddled around her. The woman had dark hair also. She looked tired but her pale lips were curved upward in a slight smile. Dr. Harvey noticed that the youngest of the four boys reminded him of Casper – he had big innocent eyes and Dr. Harvey had feeling they were blue.

Then he took a good look at the three teenage-looking boys in the photo…

"Oh my God," Dr. Harvey whispered. It was obviously the Trio in their youthful, human form. And not only that, but the mother looked exactly like the mother in his nightmare. It was really the Trio's mother – who was protective, yet somewhat abusive. A cold, strange feeling crept over Dr. Harvey's body as he continued to stare at the photo. He shivered.

"Psst! Dr. Harvey?"

"What?!" He jumped and turned around quickly. "Oh, it's just you, Casper."

"What are you doing?" The young ghost drifted over and looked at the mess on the floor.

"I can explain this…," Dr. Harvey said, starting to put the stuff back where he found it.

"Hey, what's this?" Casper picked up the family photo.

"That? Well, Casper, I think that's a picture of…"

"WHAT'S GOING ON UP THERE?!" a voice shouted all of a sudden, startling both of them.

"Miriam! Shush!" Casper called. "The last thing you want to do is wake up my uncles!"

"Yeah, so what? We're not afraid of those old slave drivers, are we?" Miriam came upstairs and looked around the attic. "Hey, why didn't you tell me you two were having a sleepover up here?"

"Dr. Harvey was just showing me something that he found," Casper pointed out. Miriam moved closer and looked at the photograph in the beam of the flashlight. "Who are those people, James?"

"Well, I think this is Casper's dad right here…," Dr. Harvey pointed to the young lad at the bottom of the photo. "And those bigger kids are…I believe the Ghostly Trio."

"I thought they looked familiar!" Miriam chuckled.

Casper smiled and pointed at the lady in the photo. "And that must be _my_ grandma!"

"Yes, but what's this here?" Miriam reached for the newspaper clipping that had been found in the same box as the photo. The newspaper was so old that it was limp and yellowish.

"What does it say?" Dr. Harvey wondered.

Miriam cleared her throat and read aloud:

" _Last night Mrs. Bertha McFadden committed suicide. She had previously fallen into deep depression and alcoholism after the sudden deaths of her oldest three sons. Her funeral will be held at the Freeland Church on Monday. It is currently unknown whether or not any of her surviving relatives will be attending. She was the mother of scientist J. T. McFadden."_

"Oh no…," Casper said sadly. A tear trickled down his white cheek.

"Casper, I'm so sorry," Dr. Harvey comforted him.

"That poor woman." Miriam wiped her nose on the sleeve of her bathrobe.

Dr. Harvey rubbed his temple. "I think we should all go back to bed now," he said, as he began to put away all of Casper's belongings.


	7. Bertha

_All her sons were dead except one. All her hopes had vanished into a bottle of whiskey. There was nothing more to live for, save her toddler grandson Casper whom she hardly ever saw. It was over for Bertha McFadden – there she was, sitting quietly in her dark living room. She was weak and frail, her violet eyes were red and swollen from an hour of crying. Empty bottles of beer and whiskey lay scattered along the floor. Despair had taken control of her life ever since the Trio was killed._

 _Mother McFadden was staring straight ahead with a cold, fierce anger in her eyes. No more tears. Just fury and despair. She sat this way for another whole hour, as she went over the events in her life leading up to this point. Then she stood up and walked towards the front door. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped outside wearing nothing but her bathrobe._

 _She shivered as she walked slowly but steadily down the road. She walked for twenty minutes until she came to a railroad station. The whistle of a freight train could be heard in the distance. The crickets were chirping as usual, but for some reason their song seemed to lack the brightness and energy that it usually had. Sniffling , Bertha wrapped her thin bathrobe tightly around her body. Then she looked up at the black night sky for a moment. She closed her eyes tight, as a single tear slithered down her cheek. "I'll see you again soon, my babies."_

 _Bertha gathered her courage as she walked up the hill, and towards the train tracks. Sometimes when she was in bed, she would hear the train engine whistling away in the night. The sound always gave her such a warm, comforting feeling in her heart. It was one of the few advantages of living this close to a railroad station._

 _Suddenly, the crickets began chirping very loudly. They sounded louder than ever – almost anxious. Then Bertha laid down on the train tracks and stayed there…until the train came._

"GRANDMA!" Casper cried, as he woke up with a jolt. His little ghostly form was quivering with fear. What a horrible nightmare he had just experienced. Giant tears flowed from his blue eyes as he got off the couch, and flew upstairs to Kat's bedroom. It always made him feel better to have his arms around Kat. When he got to her room, he peered through the door to see if she was still asleep – she was. Casper was afraid his scream might have waken her up. He sighed and climbed under the blankets with her.


	8. Trouble for Breakfast

Everyone was quiet as they ate breakfast the following morning. Most of the time it was Casper who prepared breakfast, but today Miriam did the cooking. She and Dr. Harvey drank coffee while Kat drank milk.

"Does anyone want to try this new hot sauce that I bought?" Miriam asked. "It's called 'Pure Pain' and they say it's so hot that it leaves your stomach burning for hours after you eat it."

"Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun," Kat said sarcastically, as she sipped her cold milk.

Miriam shrugged and went over to the refrigerator to put the hot sauce away. When she opened the door, she found a certain obese ghost making a feast out of the leftovers.

"Hey, get out of there!" Miriam ordered.

"What's that? Give it here!" Fatso said in his booming baritone, as he snatched the hot sauce bottle from her hand and gulped it down. Then a moment later, his face turned chili-red and his mouth exploded in a blaze of fire. Miriam gasped and slammed the door shut.

"What's wrong?" Dr. Harvey asked.

"Oh, nothing…just some stale food. Now where were we?"

"Dad was talking about the Ghostly Trio…again," Kat complained.

"Oh yes," Miriam sighed. "Ya know, I kind of feel sorry for those guys."

"But Grandma, they're such creeps!"

"We all have a dark side, sweetheart," Miriam explained. "Maybe they just need hug."

Kat burst out laughing.

Casper shook his head. "I'm afraid if you tried that, you would get one of Uncle Stinkie's specials right in the face!" he said, rolling his eyes.

"Speaking of the Trio…," Dr. Harvey began. "I want to see them in my office after breakfast."

"Again?" Kat scoffed. "How can you expect anything but a another disaster?"

"We're making progress," he assured her. But Kat was skeptical.

"What are you and the Trio going to talk about this time, James?" Miriam tried to sound encouraging.

"Well, maybe I'll ask them more about their personal lives. For instance, I'd like to know if they had any girlfriends. Or boyfriends. Whatever the case may be…"

Kat swallowed a mouthful of milk and giggled again. "Wait a minute, Dad. Let me get this straight…You're going to ask the Trio if they've ever been in love? Ha! Next you'll be wondering if they ever masturbate."

"Kat!" Miriam slammed her cup down on the table. "Bite your tongue!"

Kat quickly covered her mouth. "Sorry, Grandma. It just slipped out."

"Well, don't let it slip out again," Miriam warned. "I own a bar of soap and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Yes, ma'am."

Casper slid out of his chair and crawled underneath the table to pick up the fork he dropped. Suddenly, a hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed his arm. "Hiya, short-sheet," Stretch sneered.

"G-Good morning…," Casper smiled weakly.

"What did you make us for breakfast?"

"Well uh, Kat's grandmother is doing the cooking today."

"Well…she better be a darn good cook…or yer gonna get it."

"She is," Casper answered.

Kat peered under the table. "Casper?"

"I'll be right there!" A moment later, Casper popped up and returned to his chair. "Hehe, I uh, just had a little business to take care of."

"Under the table?" Kat raised an eyebrow. "Are your uncles under there?"

"Just one of them."

Kat looked under the table. "Hey you! Come out from under there and get up here – where we can see you!"

Stretch hissed like a snake and materialized overhead. "Ta-Da!"

Pretty soon, Stinkie also came along. "Ooh, what's this? Breakfast? Here, let me flavor it for you...," And with that, he released a green mist of bad breath all over everyone's plate.

Dr. Harvey pushed his glasses up his nose. "Listen, I'll glad you two are here. I've been meaning to speak with you."

"Oh really, Doc?" Stretch laughed dryly. "Well, _I've_ been meaning to do something to."

"You have? What?"

"Just…THIS! Here Doc! Have a chair!" Stretch picked up a chair and hurled it at Dr. Harvey, who ducked down just in time. The chair flew past him and crashed into the glass cupboard, shattering it to bits.

"HEY!" Kat jumped up and ran to her dad's rescue. "Don't you ever do that again or I'll make you wish your father never screwed your mother!"

"Quiet, Kat! I can handle this!" Dr. Harvey yelled.

Fatso crawled out of the refrigerator to join the others. "Oh boy, a party!"

"Dad, you can't let them treat you like this!"

"Kat, I said I can handle them!"

Then Stinkie darted over to Kat and grabbed her collar. "What did you just say about my mother?" he hissed. "You miserable, little brat! Nobody talks bad about _our_ mother… _except us!"_

Then he slapped Kat across the face. She gasped in shock and slapped him back. Then they both took turns slapping each other like crazy.

Meanwhile, Dr. Harvey was busy arguing with Stretch and Fatso.

Miriam couldn't take it anymore. "SILENCE! All of you! My God, there's enough noise in here to wake the dead!"

Stretch laughed at her. "Well, what do _we_ look like, Granny? Oprah on Hiatus?"

"ENOUGH! For the next ten minutes, I don't want to hear one peep in this kitchen! And that goes for everybody!"

Fatso crept up behind Miriam and went, "Peep!" in her ear. She whirled around and glared at him, her eyes blazing.

"Yoo-hoo! Can't catch me!" Fatso disappeared in poof. The rest of the Trio cackled heartily and followed him.

Miriam sat down quietly at the table. "James, you really have your work cut out for you."

"The Trio needs to crossover and they need help to do it," Dr. Harvey sat down next to her. "I didn't take up study in ghosts for nothing."

"Well, why did you have to start studying ghosts? Why can't you study something normal and safe…like lobotomy?"

"I have personal reasons," Dr. Harvey said softly.

Miriam put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Kat sighed and looked at Casper. "What now?"

"I have to get breakfast for my uncles," Casper said simply.


	9. After School

"There's a storm coming," Miriam commented as she stood out on the porch. The sky was growing gray with clouds and the leaves were flying off the trees. Casper was by her side, waiting for Kat to come home from school. Suddenly, they heard a glassy crash from inside the mansion, followed by a gust of wild, cackling laughter.

"You know Casper, your uncles have too much time on their hands."

"Well, someday they'll remember their unfinished business and they'll crossover."

"Wanna bet?"

Then Casper saw Kat coming with her backpack and wearing her fall jacket. She waved briefly as she came up the sidewalk.

"Welcome home, kid," Miriam greeted her. "Have a seat here."

Kat half-smiled as she came over and sat on the porch swing with her grandmother. She took off her backpack and put it at her feet. Casper flew into the house to fix a snack for Kat.

"How was school?"

"No worse than usual," Kat replied.

"That's not a very glowing report."

Kat shrugged.

Miriam sighed and wrapped her shawl around her wide body. "I hated school too, when I was your age."

"It's no big deal," Kat said. "Some days are better than others."

"Ya know, one day you may be sitting on this same swing with _your_ granddaughter and…"

"My _own_ granddaughter?" Kat interrupted, making a face. It sounded weird.

Miriam nodded. "That's what I said, isn't it? One day, you'll get married and have kids of your own!"

"You mean…I'll have _babies?_ Ew...," Kat grimaced. The thought of getting pregnant had always scared her. It was the whole idea of having another being living and moving inside of her body that spooked her. But the part about giving birth was even more dreadful. Of course, Kat had never actually had a baby herself, but she still knew what it was like – and from what she had heard, it was a completely horrific and disgustingly embarrassing situation.

Sometimes, Kat fantasized herself going into labor. She would imagine being in the hospital, laying down on a cold table, and having a roomful of doctor and nurses – complete strangers – staring down at her naked, helpless, swollen body. Not to mention the unbearable, excruciating agony she would experience. No clothes. No privacy. No dignity.

Kat shuddered. "I hope I _never_ get pregnant!"

Miriam smiled softly and put her arm around her granddaughter's shoulder. "It's entirely your decision, sweetheart."

Kat pursed her lips. _Maybe having kids is okay for some people, but not me. I could never do it._

OoOoOo

Meanwhile, Dr. Harvey was in his office working, occasionally hearing a hoot or a crash from somewhere else in the manor. He frowned and grabbed a pair of earplugs. Casper knocked on the door and peeked inside. "Hey, Dr. Harvey! I'm making a snack for Kat. Do you want anything?"

Dr. Harvey glanced up from his notepad and took out his earplugs. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Casper repeated his statement.

"Oh, maybe some coffee."

"Coming right up!" Casper turned to leave but Dr. Harvey called him back.

"Casper, is there something wrong with your uncles?"

"Not that I know of," Casper shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing serious, it's just that I haven't heard them harass you all day. In fact, I haven't even _seen_ them since breakfast."

Casper just looked at him in silence as he seemed to be taking in what Dr. Harvey had just said.

"It just…it just seems strange to me," Dr. Harvey explained.

"Do you want me to ask them if there's anything wrong?"

"No," Dr. Harvey shook his head. "I don't want to put you through that. Just leave them to me, okay?"

"Whatever you say," Casper agreed. "Now I'll go get you that coffee."

Then the little ghost left the office, but he kept Dr. Harvey's concern in the back of his mind.

If there _was_ something wrong with the Trio…what on Earth could it be?


	10. McFadden the Terrible

_J.T. McFadden was a brilliant and carefree young boy, who had recently celebrated his twelve birthday. He had always dreamed about becoming a scientist. One afternoon, he came back inside the house after playing with his dog in the yard. His older brothers were arguing about something in the kitchen._

" _What did you draw?"_

" _Show it to us!"_

" _NO!" Stretch tried to hide his picture behind his back._

" _Aw, come on!" Stinkie and Fatso chided him as they reached for it. But Stretch shook his head and held his drawing out of their reach._

 _Fatso leaned over to Stinkie and whispered, "Let's get him."_

 _And with that, they both walked over to Stretch and starting tickling him._

" _AAAHHH! STOP! STOP!" Stretch laughed hysterically, and threw the picture at them._

 _Smirking, Fatso picked up the picture and looked at it._

" _What in the world is THAT?" Stinkie wondered, gazing over Fatso's shoulder._

" _It looks like some girl's feet," Fatso said, making a face. Then he and Stinkie looked at each other and burst out laughing._

" _What's so funny?!" Stretch shouted furiously. He was blushing something terrible._

" _Stretchy likes feet!" Fatso jeered. Stinkie made a rude noise._

" _GIMME THAT!" Stretch snatched the sketch from his brother's hands._

 _J.T. decided to keep his distance, because he knew better than to get their way while they were fighting. But then, he froze when their father brushed past him and went into the kitchen._

 _Although they seldom saw him, Tadhg McFadden was verbally and emotionally abusive towards all his sons, especially when he had had too much to drink._

 _J.T. sat down outside the kitchen door and cringed and he listened to his father yell at his brothers for making so much noise. Then everything got quiet for a moment, before he heard Tadhg demand an explanation about Stretch's drawing. Then the yelling started again._

 _J.T. pushed the door open a little and saw Tadhg crumple up the picture and throw it at an emotionless Stretch._

" _RUBBISH!" Mr. McFadden bellowed, referring to his son's sketch. "IF I EVER CATCH YOU DRAWING FEMALE BODY PARTS AGAIN YOU ARE DEAD! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"_

" _But I only drew her feet!" Stretch cried, as his cheeks grew red._

" _BLAH! YOU SICKO!" Tadhg screamed in Stretch's face._

 _J.T. continued to watch in horror as his father threatened and screamed at Stretch._

 _When it was finally over, Stretch stormed out of the kitchen, leaving his father still shouting after him._

" _Go to your room and stay there! And remember, nobody likes you! NOBODY!" Tadhg's final words stung like Hell._

" _Stretch, are you okay?" J.T. asked, running to his oldest brother._

 _Stretch glared at him. "Get away from me, you brat!" With that, he knocked J.T. down to the floor and went upstairs._

 _J.T. frowned and stayed where he had fallen – rubbing his sore backside. The dog trotted over to him to see if he was alright._

" _Hey, boy," J. T. greeted him with a sad smile. The dog licked his freckled face and J.T. petted him softly in return. "Hey, do you want to know what I'm going to do tonight?"_

 _The dog stared into the boy's eyes and cocked his head._

 _J.T. scowled. "I'm going to kill my father."_

 _OoOoOo_

 _Now J.T. wasn't the kind of boy to go out looking for trouble, but he feared that his brother's life was in danger. His father could easily become a merciless maniac. The only thing J.T. could think of to protect his brothers was to get rid of their father._

 _J.T. decided that he would do it at night when everyone would be asleep. Since Tadhg was known to be a heavy sleeper, J.T. was pretty sure that the job would be easy enough. During dinner that evening, J.T. kept glancing over at his father._

 _Tadhg was completely quiet at the evening meal, looking as though he were tired and had a hangover. He did look up every once in a while, just to glare at his sons. But that was it. Nobody mentioned the events from earlier in the day._

 _Eventually, bedtime came and Bertha went into the room that the boys shared and tucked them all in. "Sleep tight," she whispered. "And if you see any bedbugs…kill them."_

 _J.T. felt his stomach jump a little when she said that._

" _G-Goodnight, Mother," he squeaked._

 _Bertha left the room and walked down the hall, towards the bedroom that she and her husband slept in. Soon the Trio was snoring just like they did every night. But J.T. kept his blue eyes wide open. He wanted to wait for awhile, just to be sure that parents were fast asleep._

 _After an hour, J.T. kicked off his blanket and lowered his bare feet to the cold, wood floor. Then he tiptoed out of the room and went downstairs as quietly as he could. He could hear the crickets chirping outside in the darkness._

 _J. T. lit a candle and stepped into the kitchen, his palms were sweating from the anxiety. He pulled out a drawer and selected a long, butcher knife._

 _He couldn't help but whimper at the sight of it. "Dear Heavenly Father…please have mercy on my soul."_

 _Then he slowly walked back upstairs, his little heart was pounding furiously in his chest. His palms were drenched in sweat. He tiptoed down the hallway, towards his parent's bedroom. The floor creaked with every step he took, but it was unavoidable._

 _When he reached the door to his parent's room, he was so scared that he felt like he was going to shit his pants. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then pushed open the door. His parent's room always smelled weird – it was a musty smell mixed with his father's alcohol and his mother's cologne._

" _I have to do this…I have to do this…," J.T. kept repeating that over and over again in his head. His parents were both fast asleep when he entered the room. Tadhg was laying on his back, one arm draped over the side of the bed._

 _J. T. swallowed hard and clutched the knife with both hands as he raised it over Tadhg's chest._

 _Suddenly, Bertha opened her eyes. "J. T.? What are you…"_

 _Without thinking, J.T. plunged the knife into his father's body._

" _WHAT THE FUCK!?" Tadhg screamed as he woke up with jolt of agony. He realized with shock what had just happened. He yanked the knife from his chest and blood began pouring out. Bertha jumped out of bed and wrestled J. T. to the floor and slapped his face._

" _ARE YOU INSANE!?" she screamed at him. Then she threw the boy down and started holding bed sheets against Tadhg's wound. When the bleeding was under control, she bandaged his chest and left him to rest._

 _Then she dragged J. T. downstairs and threw him on the couch. "What's the matter with you?! You want to murder your own father?!"_

" _He was going to do something bad to Stretch!" J. T. sobbed, rubbing the tears from his eyes._

" _What are you talking about?" Bertha asked, her voice was quieter this time._

 _J. T. sniffled. "He said bad things to Stretch today! H-He said that…he was going to hurt him. You weren't there!"_

 _Bertha lowered her eyes and sighed. "Son, your father doesn't mean half the things he says."_

" _But how do you know that!?"_

" _Because if I thought he did, I would have killed him myself!" she exclaimed._

 _J. T. wiped his nose on the sleeve of his pajamas. "I didn't want to do it…"_

" _Well, just be grateful that he's going to be okay," she said, locking eyes with him. "Don't you know what happens to people who have died a violent death?"_

 _J. T. shook his head. Bertha knelt down in front of him._

" _I'll tell you. Every year…on the anniversary of their death…that person's ghost has to go through their death again. They have to relive their brutal deaths over and over and over again."_

" _For how long?"_

" _Until they crossover or until…"_

" _Until what?"_

 _Meanwhile, Tadhg was going through the closet upstairs, looking for the gun he had given to his wife for self-defense. He found it and ran out of the room. "BERTHA! WHERE'S THAT KID?! I'M GONNA KILL THAT KID!"_

 _But just as he started running downstairs, he slipped and tumbled down, breaking his neck in the process. Bertha screamed and ran to him as he lay at the bottom of the stairs._

" _He's…He's dead," she said solemnly. "Your father is dead."_

Dr. Harvey woke up with a jolt from a loud crash of thunder. It was pouring rain outside as he lay warm in his bed. A flash of white lightening lit up the room.

There was a thunderstorm outside, and Dr. Harvey had just woken up from another nightmare. But it didn't really matter. After all, he was getting used to it.


	11. Hiding

"Where's our lunch?!" Stinkie called through manor, as he and the rest of the Trio flew around looking for Casper.

"Yoo-hoo! Short-sheet? Come out, come out, wherever ya are!" They went upstairs to Dr. Harvey's room to see if Casper was hiding in there.

Dr. Harvey was resting in bed when they appeared before him out of thin air. He sat up quickly.

"Where's the kid, Doc?" Fatso asked.

"Kat?"

"No, Casper! You pinhead!" Stretch growled.

"I'm hungry!" Stinkie complained, crossing his arms.

Dr. Harvey adjusted his glasses and stood up. "I think he's in Kat's room. I heard him say he was going to help her with her homework."

"Well, what are we waitin' for? Let's go get him!"

"Wait a minute!" Dr. Harvey called to them. "Kat has the vacuum in there and she told me that she's going to use it on you if you come into her room while she's doing homework."

The Trio exchanged worried glances.

"What now, Stretch?" Stinkie wondered.

" I'm thinking…," Stretch said, as he placed a finger against his temple. "Hey! I got it! We'll go into the girl's room and get Casper, but we'll take the Doc with us."

"What good will that do?"

"Get a big, white sheet and throw it over the Doc's head," Stretch ordered.

"You mean we're gonna make a ghost out of him? What for?"

"Don't ya see? When Kat sees us coming, she's think he's one of us. And that way, she's suck _him_ up the vacuum first!"

"Good thinkin'!" Fatso congratulated him.

Stretch blushed. "Why, thank you!" he replied with a cocky smile.

Dr. Harvey rolled his eyes but he went along with the Trio's plan. At least the Ghostly Trio seemed to acting normal again – or so he thought.

OoOoOo

Later that day, Miriam was walking to the bathroom to take a bath, when she heard voices coming from the closet. She stopped in her tracts and pressed her ear against the door. There were definite whispers on the other side of the door.

Though she couldn't make out what they were saying, she thought it sounded like they were upset about something. For a moment, Miriam considered opening the closet door but before she had a chance, she saw Kat coming down the hall towards her.

"Hey Grandma…something wrong?"

"I'm not sure. Where's your dad? I have to tell him something…about the Ghostly Trio."

"The Ghostly Trio! The Ghostly Trio!" Kat ranted, as she turned her back on Miriam for a moment. "Grandma, why does he care so much about them away?"

Miriam sighed. "Kat, believe it or not, the Trio were once human beings – and now, they are just stubborn spirits who don't want to crossover. But we still have to help them in any way we can."

"Well, they're not my problem. I don't want anything to do with them. They're Dad's projects, not mine. I will pray for them when their time comes, but that's it."

Miriam stared at her definite granddaughter for a moment, then she reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on downstairs, kid. I'll fix you a cup of hot tea."

Kat smiled slightly, a little relieved that Miriam didn't seem to be mad at her.

But as the pair walked downstairs together, Miriam wondered about the Ghostly Trio being huddled together in the closet. They were hiding…but the question was, what were they hiding from?


	12. Deliver Us

Miriam was cooking spaghetti for dinner that evening, when the Ghostly Trio came in and gobbled up all the crunchy, dry pasta. Kat and Casper were sitting at the table, watching the show until Miriam chased the ghosts out the door with a broom.

"Go back upstairs and sit in that closet till dinner is ready!" she ordered them.

"Yer a mean old thing!" Stinkie said with a snarl.

Stretch agreed. "Yeah, why can't you be nice like us? Did your husband ever cheat on you?"

"Yes, he did," Miriam answered.

Kat's eyes widened. "He did? That's awful!"

Miriam nodded. "Yep! He cheated all the time…whenever we played checkers!"

"Ah!" Kat rolled her eyes in exasperation.

The Ghostly Trio burst out laughing. Casper looked at them with confusion.

"I don't get," Casper said. "What's the joke?"

"I'll explain later," Kat told him, warily.

Then Dr. Harvey came into the kitchen and glanced at everyone. "What's going on in here?"

"Old Granny here sure is funny, Doc!" Stinkie said, smiling.

"Yeah, she's not so bad when you get to know her!" Fatso exclaimed. "By the way, whose mother is she? Yours or your wife's?"

"Never mind that." Dr. Harvey sat down at the table and faced the Trio. "She told me there's something that you were hiding from – something that frightens you. Care to tell me about it?"

"Doc, the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself…and the vacuum cleaner!"

Miriam suppressed a laugh as she looked at Dr. Harvey's face.

OoOoOo

Kat tossed and turned in bed that night, trying to get to sleep. Casper was sleeping soundly beside her, a satisfied smile on his face. Kat frowned and looked at her clock. It was just a little past midnight. She groaned and pulled the blankets over her head.

Then she heard something.

 _What was that?_ she thought, pushing the blanket off her face. It was a heavy thumping noise – like the footsteps of a large person. Then she heard it again. The sound was coming from out in the hallway. _Probably just the Trio trying to mess with me,_ Kat thought with a huff.

Then she heard a few different voices talking in the distance. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but they sounded quite frantic. It like sounded like the Ghostly Trio – all except for one particular voice that she didn't recognize. It was low and raspy…almost like it could belong to the Devil himself.

Kat jumped when she heard a high-pitched scream from down the hall. She looked over at Casper – still asleep. Then she got out of bed and walked quickly to the door. She was standing close to it but she didn't open it. "Dad? Grandma? Is everything alright?"

Another scream tore through the house, sending a chill down her spine. Kat slowly turned the doorknob and peered out into the hallway. She took a step out and looked around. Of course, it was always possible that the Ghostly Trio were restless and up to no good, but she still decided to investigate.

"Hello? Is there someone out here?" Kat felt her skin tingling from the goose bumps crawling up her body. Just as she was walking past the closet, she heard another scream. Then she noticed a smell…a terrible smell.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Kat wrapped her hand around the closet doorknob and prepared to open it. She noticed that her heart was racing. _Come on, Kat. Don't be a chicken-butt. Just open the stupid closet._

Then she opened the closet and almost passed out from what she found.

The Ghostly Trio. All three of them were tied up with ropes and caked in blood. There were deep lacerations on their heads and dark bruises on their faces. They also had legs (for some reason). Their legs were streaked with crimson blood, caused by injuries further up their legs – their kneecaps had practically been bashed clean off. The ghostly beings turned their heads and stared at Kat, showing their stained faces and yellow eyes. "Help us."

Kat gagged and fled as fast as she could. She ran to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. She tried to get the appalling image out of her mind.

"Are you okay?" Casper was hovering in the doorway. He had woken up and noticed that Kat was missing from her bed.

Still leaning over the toilet, Kat held up a hand to Casper to indicate that she wasn't ready to talk yet.

"Are you sick? Should I get your dad?" Casper asked, his big eyes filled with concern.

"I'm alright," Kat sniffled, as she grabbed some toilet paper and wiped the slime off her mouth and nose.

Casper sat down beside her on the tile floor. "What happened?"

"It was your uncles…," Kat said in a painful whisper. Her throat was sore from puking.

"What did they do to you?"

"Nothing. I-I saw them…in the closet. I think they were dying."

Casper stared into her eyes, seeing her this upset made him nervous. "I think we should tell your dad about this."

Kat nodded and stood up slowly. Casper took hold of her hand and carried her along as he flew to Dr. Harvey's room.

"Okay, tell me exactly what happened," Dr. Harvey said as he and Miriam walked to the closet to see for themselves.

"Kat says she saw them dying, Dr. Harvey," Casper explained as he followed them down the hallway.

"How can they be dying if they're already ghosts?" Miriam wondered.

Dr. Harvey froze in his tracts, causing Miriam and Kat to almost run into him from behind.

"Well, what's the matter with you?" Miriam demanded.

Dr. Harvey turned and looked at her with wide eyes. "I don't know, it's just that…I had this dream recently…and in it, Casper's grandmother was talking to her son. She was telling him something…"

"What did she say?" Casper asked, curiously. Miriam had heard about Dr. Harvey's nightmares and he had told her all about them, but Casper was still in the dark about it.

"I can't remember every detail about the dream, but I do remember a few things for certain. I remember her explaining about what happens to some people when they die. She told J.T. that every year, on the anniversary of their death…"

"Yes?"

"Wait a minute," Dr. Harvey looked at Miriam. "What day is today?"

"Thursday."

"Thursday what?"

"Dad, I'd really like to hear about your dreams but right now we have to find out what kind of malicious forces are going on in that closet!" Kat pointed at closet door.

"James, I think you might have something there," Miriam began to understand. "Don't you see, Kat? Every year the Ghostly Trio have to relive their horrible death. We have to put a stop to that. Tonight."

"How are we going to do that unless they crossover?"

"Maybe there's another way?" Casper ventured.

"Perhaps," Miriam said, moving closer to the closet. Then she knelt down by the door and began to speak in a soft voice. "Can you guys hear me in there? I want to tell you something. I want to tell you that you don't have to go through this anymore. You'll be able to rest easy now. Do you want to know why? Well, you remember your mother, right? She passed away not too long after you did. She was very upset when she died, and therefore she became a ghost. And after she became a ghost, do you know what she did? She moved in with the people who took your lives. For years, she haunted them and made their lives a living Hell. She continued to do this until they all croaked. That was her business and she finished it. Do you understand what this means? It means you can continue to be ghosts but you will NEVER have to go through this nightmare again."

When Miriam was finished, she stood up and took a few steps away from the closet door. Dr. Harvey, Kat, and Casper were in awe.

"That was amazing," Casper said. "How did you know what to say?"

Miriam smiled and put her hand on the doorknob. "Before you congratulate me let's see if it worked."

Then she opened the door, releasing a whirlwind of blue and white air. Everyone shielded their eyes from the gust, except Casper who was eager to see the outcome of his uncles.

"TA-DA!" The Ghostly Trio sang out, as they reformed themselves in front of everybody.

"They're back to normal!" Kat said, relieved.

Miriam laughed. "Yep, back to their normal, nasty selves."


	13. Back to Normal

Dr. Harvey woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed than usual. There were no nightmares last night for him or Casper. After what had seemed like an eternity, things were finally starting to turn around. The Ghostly Trio were okay now.

During breakfast that morning, Miriam was reading the newspaper. She glanced up at Kat who was hungrily eating the pancakes that Casper had made.

"Don't eat too fast, sweetheart."

"I'm not."

Casper flew around the table, collecting dishes like a waiter. "Hurry or you'll be late for school, Kat."

"Since when have I been late for school?" Kat asked, teasingly.

Dr. Harvey smiled at everyone and poured himself some more coffee. Things were finally back to normal.

Casper drifted over to the stove and prepared bunches of more pancakes to feed his uncles when they came down. "Does anyone want more pancakes? There's plenty here."

"None for me, Casper. Save some for yourself. You look thin," Miriam said.

"I still can't believe what happened to my uncles last night," Casper spoke as he took out three plates for the pancakes. "I had no idea they went through that every year."

"Does anything like that happen to you, Casper?" Kat asked, when the idea suddenly popped into her mind.

The young ghost shook his head. "Not that I remember."

"Weird," Kat remarked. "By the way, Grandma, I was wondering how you knew what to say to the Trio last night. How did you do it?"

"Oh, I'm smarter than I look, Kat." Miriam smirked.

"It was real neat, what you did," Casper complimented Miriam.

Miriam sighed and sat back in her chair. "Well kids, there comes a time when we all have something important to do…whether we're alive or dead."

Kat swallowed a mouthful of pancakes and looked at her father. He was holding his cup and staring down into the black coffee.

"I have to leave in a couple of days," Miriam said, after a moment.

"We all know that," said Kat.

"I'd like to stay longer."

"Why don't you then?" Kat suggested. "It's fine with Dad and me."

Miriam smiled and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. "No, I'm afraid I can only stay for one week. I've been pretty busy the past few months. Always something happening. Work and fuss…you know how it is. Things were pretty much like that until about a year ago. I had cancer."

"What?" Dr. Harvey looked up from his coffee. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Miriam shrugged. "I didn't want to worry anyone."

"But Grandma…," Kat said, confused. "I still think you should have said something about it!"

"I know," Miriam sighed. "But I got better. My cancer went away."

Dr. Harvey and Kat both looked relieved.

"But three months ago, the cancer came back again," Miriam explained. "It came back for the second time. And at one point, it got very bad. I got very sick and…"

"And what?" Kat asked quietly.

"I died, Kat."

The room froze. Everything froze.

All was silent until a tiny squeak spilled from Kat's throat. "W-What?"

Miriam looked into her granddaughter's eyes and nodded.

"Y-You're a ghost?" Dr. Harvey managed to say.

"I wanted to wait until the right time to tell you. This _was_ the right time, wasn't it?" Miriam wondered.

Dr. Harvey put his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. Kat nearly got sick and had to stand up.

"Casper? Casper, where are you?"

"Right here, Kat!" Casper looked timidly at Kat from under the tablecloth.

Kat folded her arms. "Did you know about this?"

"Well, not at first…but after some time passed, I was able to pick up on it. But I didn't know anything else about her, or what she was capable of! Honest!"

Kat frowned and continued to stare at him. "Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell _me?"_

"I-I just thought Miriam should be the one to tell you. I'm sorry." Casper dropped his eyes.

Dr. Harvey got out of his chair and sat next to Miriam. "Why did you come here?" he asked, softly.

"I wanted to see you and Kat again," Miriam smiled sadly. "But you don't have to worry about how my afterlife will be. It was a very peaceful death."

Dr. Harvey nodded and cleared his throat. He stood up and strolled into the doorway.

Kat didn't know what to think. She didn't know whether to be sad, hurt, or even who to be angry at.


	14. Goodbye

Kat was doing homework quietly in her room that evening. The vacuum was right by her side in case the Ghostly Trio decided to pay her a visit. She hadn't talked to anyone for hours. Not even Casper. She felt kind of bad about the way she was acting, but not bad enough to apologize to anyone. It was just the whole, _'my grandma is dead'_ thing that disturbed her. It made her sad. But if she could get over her own mother's death, then she could get over this too. She just needed some time.

"Kat, can I come in?"

Kat looked up and saw Casper waving timidly at her, with his head poking through the locked door.

She nodded. Then Casper floated into the room and approached the girl with caution.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked.

Kat shook her head.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, Casper. I'll be okay."

He sat on the bed and put an arm around her. "Miriam said that she'll still come back to see us sometimes, so it's not like she's gone forever."

Kat closed her workbook and half-smiled at the young ghost. "I've been cold to you and I'm sorry."

"No worries," Casper smiled back.

Suddenly, a loud cackling laughter filled the room. The Trio was in the room and they were listening to everything.

Kat growled under her breath. "Get out of here! All of you! And don't let the door hit your transparent butts on the way out!"

The Trio laughed some more and zipped out of the room in a whirr of blue and gray.

"There's nothing really wrong with being a ghost," Casper spoke when everything was still again. "It's like…being born."

"Only backwards," Kat said, a slight smile coming to her face.

Casper chuckled and held her hand. "Let's go see the folks."

"Okay."

OoOoOo

Finally, the day came when Miriam had to leave. It was a sad time in many ways but also a happy time because she would be moving on to a better place. Kat and Casper especially made sure they spent the last few hours with her.

Miriam didn't mention it at all though. She just acted as if it were any other day. The Ghostly Trio found out she was leaving and they also knew what she had done to help them. But being who were, they couldn't bring themselves to say thank you. However, in their hearts they were grateful.

"Miriam, where are you?" Casper was looking for her.

"Right here," she answered.

"What were you doing in the basement?"

"Oh, just cleaning…and fixing up a few things. Getting everything all nice and ready for when I'm gone."

"Oh," Casper replied. "Uh, when do you have to go?"

"Well, my junk is all packed and I'm just about ready now," Miriam said. Then she took out a pen and began writing something down on paper.

"Whatcha writing?" Casper asked.

"I just thought I'd write up a quick list for the grocery store," Miriam said, looking down at the paper. "There's few things we need."

"Are you going? To the store, I mean?" Kat asked hopefully, thinking that maybe Miriam had decided to stay longer.

"Nah, it's for your daddy."

"Oh."

Miriam finished writing and folded the paper, leaving it neatly on the kitchen table.

Dr. Harvey came downstairs carrying Miriam's suitcases. She thanked him and gave him a hug goodbye.

"I'll miss you all," she sighed as Kat went to hug her.

"Casper says you'll come again sometime?"

"You can count on it, sweetheart," Miriam smiled and winked.

"I'll walk you out to your car!" Casper exclaimed as he followed her out the front door.

Miriam unlocked the car door and got behind the steering wheel. "Well, I'll be seeing you around, Casper."

"I know. It was fun having you here. I wish my uncles would come to see you off."

Miriam smirked. "You can tell them I said goodbye."

Casper nodded. "I'll do that."

Miriam told him goodbye one more time. Then she started the engine and drove out onto the street. Casper went back to the porch and watched her drive away until the car disappeared in a twinkly flash.

Then Casper sighed and went back inside the house. It was very quiet. He wandered into the kitchen and saw the grocery list that Miriam had written. Casper picked up the paper and began unfolding so he could read what it said.

But what he saw on the paper shocked him and made his heart flutter.

It was no grocery list.

On the note, there were just two words…

 _LAZARUS LIVES_

The End


End file.
